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GREAT LIVES: SERIES 46 - 1. HANIF KUREISHI ON DAVID BOWIE (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 8th january 2026
"Suddenly this light comes into your life" - says Hanif Kureishi, referring to his hero, his great life, David Bowie.
Hanif, an author, screenwriter and film maker, went on to become friends with Bowie in the 1990's after they worked together when Bowie wrote the soundtrack to Kureishi's TV adaptation 'The Buddha of Suburbia'.
For Hanif it was also Bowie who inspired him to become an author and filmmaker - he says for a "mixed race Pakistani kid living in a crummy terrace bored out of my mind, I wanted to get out - I wanted to explore, I wanted to express myself, I wanted to be free".
Hanif gives his personal insight into the life of David Bowie.
The expert witness is Dylan Jones - author of 'David Bowie A Life' and 'When Ziggy Played Guitar'.
Presenter: Matthew Parris
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.
DAVID BOWIE - MEMO FOR RADIO SHOW 04.01.26 (320kbs-m4a/138mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 4th January 2026
Among the 90,000 items in the David Bowie Centre which opened recently at V&A East Storehouse in London, curators unearthed a handwritten note titled "Memo for radio show — list of favourite records."
On it, Bowie sketched out 15 tracks he imagined playing on a potential radio broadcast. Some of these are names long known as Bowie influences including The Beatles, Ronnie Spector, Roxy Music, Scott Walker, and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, an eccentric '60s performer who was a huge influence on the creation of Ziggy Stardust. Bowie's love of jazz is also represented in the memo by Miles Davis and Charles Mingus as well as classical pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Richard Strauss.
This one hour show brings Bowie's memo to life. Each of the 15 tracks is played, interspersed with archive recordings of Bowie's voice, interviews, and reflections that have been recorded for the BBC across the years. The programme imagines Bowie himself as host, guiding listeners through the music that inspired him.
Ralph Vaughan Williams - Fantasia On A Theme by Thomas Tallis [Warner Classics]
Mikko Franck & Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France & Asmik Grigorian - Four Last Songs, TrV 296: I. Frühling [Alpha Classics]
Mikko Franck & Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France & Asmik Grigorian - Four Last Songs, TrV 296: II. September [Alpha Classics]
Mikko Franck & Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France & Asmik Grigorian - Four Last Songs, TrV 296: III. Beim Schlafengehen [Alpha Classics]
Mikko Franck & Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France & Asmik Grigorian - Four Last Songs, TrV 296: IV. Im Abendrot [Alpha Classics]
Alan Freed And His Rock 'N' Roll Band - Right Now, Right Now [Geffen]
Little Richard - True Fine Mama [Rock 'n' Roll Classics]
The Hollywood Argyles - Sho' Know A Lot About Love [Master Classics]
Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come [Magic Gold]
Charles Mingus - Ecclusiastics [Top Tracks]
Jeff Beck - Beck's Bolero [Parlophone UK]
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship [Mercury]
The Beatles - Across The Universe [UME - Global Clearing House]
Ronnie Spector - Try Some, Buy Some (Remastered) [Legacy Recordings]
Roxy Music - Mother Of Pearl [EG]
Edgar Froese - Epsilon In Malaysian Pale [UME - Global Clearing House]
The Walker Brothers - The Electrician [Sony Music UK]
Sonic Youth - Tom Violence [Universal]
DAVID BOWIE - THE MORNING AFTER MIX SPECIAL 11.01.26 (320kbs-m4a/276mb/2hrs)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 11th January 2026
Relax with a two-hour mix of chilled David Bowie tracks, as part of 6 Music's 'David Bowie Forever' season. With a selection of hits, alternate versions and deep cuts from across his long career. Among the selection of slower songs are tracks from albums including Ziggy Stardust, Young Americans, Low and Blackstar.
Produced in Salford by Audio Always for BBC Sounds.
David Bowie - Where Are We Now? [Columbia]
David Bowie - Wild Is The Wind [RCA]
David Bowie - Space Oddity [EMI]
David Bowie - Lazarus [Columbia]
David Bowie - Art Decade [RCA]
David Bowie & Angelo Badalamenti - A Foggy Day (In London Town) [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - Win [Britannia Music]
David Bowie - Miracle Goodnight (Make Believe Mix) [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - I Can't Read '97 [Rhino/Parlophone]
David Bowie - Moss Garden [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - The Loneliest Guy [Rhino]
David Bowie - Lady Stardust [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - Conversation Piece [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - An Occasional Dream [Philips]
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World (ChangesNowBowie Version) [Parlophone]
David Bowie - Without You [EMI America]
David Bowie - Don't Look Down [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - Yassassin [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - It's No Game (Pt. 2) [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - Seven [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - Soul Love (Demo) [Rhino]
David Bowie - When I Live My Dream [Universal]
David Bowie - Shadow Man [Parlophone UK]
David Bowie - The Mysteries [Rhino]
David Bowie - Sweet Thing [RCS Victor]
David Bowie - Life On Mars? [EMI]
David Bowie - Memory Of A Free Festival [Parlophone UK]
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING (320kbs-m4a/336mb/2hrs25mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Artwork Photo Credit: Ellen von Unwerth
A Zinc Media Production.
Series Producer: Des Shaw
BBC Commissioners: Will Wilkin & Hannah Clapham
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 1. OH YOU PRETTY THINGS! (320kbs-m4a/35mb/15mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Kate Moss describes David's early life in Brixton, South London and the family influences that began to shape his early interest in music. School friend George Underwood describes going with David to see his first rock concert, which was Little Richard, when they were both 14 and Peter Frampton explains the help and advice his art teacher father gave Peter, George and David. Once he decided he wanted to become a musician, David moved quickly through several bands, each with a slightly different style - and in 1967 he became enamoured with the art of mime and met mime artist Lindsay Kemp, with whom he studied for several months. Then after years of struggle and experimentation, fuelled by a desperation to become famous, David finally scored his first hit in 1969 with 'Space Oddity'.
With contributions from Brian Eno, St. Vincent, Sinead O'Connor, Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton, George Underwood and Lindsay Kemp.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 2. ALL THE MADMEN (320kbs-m4a/36mb/16mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Encouraged by the success of Space Oddity, David Bowie began working with producer Tony Visconti to craft another hit. He and his girlfriend Angie moved into a flat in Beckenham, South London, where Bowie drew inspiration from Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd and dabbled in musical theatre, influenced by Anthony Newley.
At Haddon Hall, Bowie met Freddie Buretti, who became central to his evolving visual style, designing bold outfits that matched Bowie's artistic transformation. While developing new material in the basement studio, Bowie and his band—briefly known as The Hype—played gigs under various names.
This period of creative experimentation and reinvention is celebrated in a special event hosted by Kate Moss.
With contributions from Tony Visconti, John Cambridge and Wendy Kirby.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 3. THE WARHOL CONNECTION (320kbs-m4a/36mb/15mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Amid writing, recording, and performing, David Bowie married Angie on March 20, 1970. With no time for a honeymoon, Bowie was back in the studio working on new material that explored themes of isolation and alienation.
Frustrated with his lack of progress, Bowie parted ways with manager Ken Pitt and signed with Tony Defries, who believed in Bowie's star potential. The Man Who Sold the World was released in the U.S. in November 1970, and Bowie headed to America—packing his Mr Fish dresses—for a short promotional tour.
Energised by the music scene there, Bowie returned to the UK and kept writing. In August 1971, he saw Andy Warhol's Pork at Camden's Roundhouse, a show that deeply influenced him. Bowie, Angie, and Defries connected with Warhol's team, many of whom later helped shape Hunky Dory.
With contributions from Tony Defries, Tony Zanetta, Anya Wilson, Trevor Bolder, Ken Scott, John Mendelsshon and Woody Woodmansey. Narrated by Kate Moss.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 4. BECOMING ZIGGY (320kbs-m4a/35mb/15mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
David Bowie was captivated by Tony Zanetta, known as 'Z', who played Andy Warhol in Pork, and asked him to arrange a meeting with Warhol in New York. During that trip, Bowie also met Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, both of whom would profoundly influence his music.
Kate Moss explores Bowie's journey back in the UK where he was creatively recharged. Inspired by the artists and sounds he encountered, he began writing new material and shared his vision for a new persona: Ziggy Stardust.
His next album, Hunky Dory, showcased Bowie's immense potential. Released on December 17, 1971, it featured tracks like Changes and Life on Mars, which marked a turning point in his career.
With contributions from Iggy Pop, George Underwood, Tony Zanetta, Woody Woodmansey, Anya Wilson and Leee Black Childers.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 5. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (320kbs-m4a/42mb/18mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Kate Moss digs into how Bowie brought Ziggy Stardust to life, through a striking transformation. Though Hunky Dory showed him with flowing golden hair, Bowie was already embracing a bolder look inspired by Warhol's circle and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.
Despite the daring style, early gigs drew small crowds, some nights just ten people, and not everyone embraced the new aesthetic. One early show featured Roxy Music, another band pushing boundaries.
Bursting with creativity, Bowie wrote and produced All the Young Dudes for Mott the Hoople, an anthem that defined the era. Then in June 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released. A month later, Bowie's electrifying Top of the Pops performance of Starman in full Ziggy costume became a cultural milestone.
That summer, riding the wave of Ziggy's success, Bowie produced Lou Reed's Transformer.
With contributions from Suzi Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey, Michael Watts, Mick Ronson, Phil Manzanera, Mick Rock, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed & Boy George.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 6. A LAD INSANE (320kbs-m4a/35mb/15mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
In April 1973, David Bowie fulfilled a long-held dream by touring Japan. Designer Kansai Yamamoto gifted him a collection of flamboyant stage outfits that Bowie wore with confidence, looks that continue to inspire fashion today.
On April 19, Bowie released Aladdin Sane, featuring the iconic lightning bolt artwork that became one of rock's most enduring images. As Ziggy Stardust's fame soared, Bowie's reality blurred with fantasy. Within just 18 months, Ziggy had become a global phenomenon.
But fame came at a cost. The pressures of touring and financial strain began to mount. On July 3, 1973, at London's Hammersmith Odeon, Bowie dramatically retired Ziggy Stardust, closing a defining chapter in his career.
With contributions from Mike Garson, Geoff MacCormack, Dana Gillespie, Lady Gaga, Chris Duffy, Harris Reed and Sir Paul Smith.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 7. THE 1980 FLOOR SHOW (320kbs-m4a/36mb/16mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
Following the end of Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie entered a period of reinvention. While Tony Defries negotiated a complex publishing deal, Bowie owed RCA another album, so he recorded Pin Ups, a collection of covers that paid tribute to the songs that shaped his early musical journey. He and Angie spent the summer of 1973 at Château d'Hérouville in France working on the project.
That same year, Bowie was invited by NBC to film a concert for their Midnight Special series. Unable to secure rights to adapt Orwell's 1984 for the stage, Bowie channelled his vision into a theatrical performance titled The 1980 Floor Show, filmed at London's Marquee Club. Still in Ziggy mode for one final outing, Bowie was joined by guests including The Troggs, Carmen, and Marianne Faithfull.
With contributions from Marianne Faithfull, Chrissie Hynde, Cherry Vanilla, Mike Garson and Gene Simmons.
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 8. THE YEAR OF THE DIAMOND DOG (320kbs-m4a/41mb/18mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
The series concludes with Kate Moss exploring the lasting legacy of David Bowie and the story behind Diamond Dogs, an album that carried themes from Bowie's unrealised Orwell adaptation. Released on May 24, 1974, it marked a shift, Tony Defries had convinced Bowie to drop "David", and all promotional material referred to him simply as Bowie.
Unable to stage his 1984 concept, Bowie transformed it into a theatrical U.S. tour, bringing in Broadway designers and choreographer Toni Basil. After months of rehearsals, the Diamond Dogs Tour launched in Montreal, pioneering large-scale rock theatrics and earning rave reviews.
During the tour, Bowie began recording Young Americans in Philadelphia, where filmmaker Alan Yentob captured his volatile state in the documentary Cracked Actor. Bowie, inspired by the new sound, incorporated it into the tour's final leg and completed the album with Tony Visconti. The last track, Fame, was co-written with John Lennon.
Cracked Actor aired in January 1975, catching the eye of director Nic Roeg, who cast Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, sparking the birth of his next persona: The Thin White Duke.
In just five years, Bowie evolved from a shy outsider into a global icon, constantly reinventing himself through music, fashion, and art.
With contributions from Tilda Swinton, Dave Gahan, Robbie Williams, Florence Welch, Nick Knight, Christine & The Queens, Toni Basil, Jules Fisher, Mark Ravitz, Elton John, Geoff MacCormack, Tony Zanetta and Edward Enninful,
MUSIC UNCOVERED: DAVID BOWIE CHANGELING - 9. KATE MOSS AND NICK GRIMSHAW TALK BOWIE (320kbs-m4a/41mb/18mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd September 2025
In this special episode, fashion icon Kate Moss joins Nick Grimshaw for an intimate conversation within the David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse. Together, they delve into Kate's personal friendship with Bowie and reflect on his enduring influence across music, fashion, and culture. First broadcast on the 6 Music Breakfast Show.
ARCHIVE ON 4: BOWIE IN BERLIN (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 14th September 2024
How David Bowie saved his life and career in 1970s Berlin. Bowie had become a superstar by creating musical characters. Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke were alter egos through which he could tell stories. They helped him achieve global fame and wealth, and yet by 1976 his notorious excess had become the cause of his deep depression. Living in Los Angeles, addicted to cocaine and financially broke, he was feeling artistically washed-up and suicidal. David Bowie stood at a crossroads: become yet another rock 'n roll casualty or face his demons.
"I started getting very very worried for my life and just had to get myself out of that situation... so I ended up in Berlin."
In 1976, moving to the epicentre of the Cold War more than saved his life and career. It allowed him to rediscover his youthful creative passions for art and literature, and - as one of the most famous people on the planet - to hide in plain sight. Dressed in simple check shirt and jeans, Bowie enjoyed relative anonymity on the streets of Berlin. With Iggy Pop as his flatmate, he lived in a cheap apartment in a working-class district of the city. And in Hansa Studios, alongside musical collaborator Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti, he began one the most artistically ambitious periods of entire career, honing a completely new sound with the albums Low and Heroes.
For many years his time in Berlin between 1976 and 1978 has been mythologised and romanticised by writers, filmmakers, critics and by Bowie himself. There's no footage of Bowie in Berlin and very few photographs. But now documentary filmmaker Francis Whately reveals what really happened thanks to the testimonies of three women who knew Bowie intimately, all talking publicly about their relationships with him for the first time. Artist and former RSC actor Clare Shenstone, performer and legendary nightclub owner Romy Haag, and former journalist Sarah-Rena Hine all shared time with him in Berlin. Exclusive interviews with these remarkable muses, alongside other first-hand witnesses and a cache of previously unheard archive interviews, help tell a completely new story. Bowie In Berlin reveals how he drew upon the history, culture and anonymity of the German city to recuperate and regenerate.
Over those Cold War months of rain and beer, cycle-rides and cigarettes, Bowie wrenched himself from his past and thrust himself towards the future. For the first time we can hear how, in Berlin, David Bowie reinvented himself ...as himself.
Writer and presenter: Francis Whately
Producer: John Wilson
A Blackstar production for BBC Radio 4
Interviewees: Clare Shenstone, Romy Haag, Sarah-Rena Hine, Esther Freidman, Michael Rother, Tony Visconti, Earl Slick, Carlos Alomar.
Archive: David Bowie, Iggy Pop.
ARCHIVE ON 4: ZIGGY STARDUST AT 50 (320kbs-m4a/129mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 11th June 2022
June 1972 saw the release of David Bowie's album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars which propelled the South London singer to stardom.
Bowie's creation of the Ziggy Stardust persona was more than just a whimsical costume change, the whole concept had a meticulously planned gestation period and evolved many facets of his creativity.
In a Melody Maker interview in January 1972, a few months before the album's release, Bowie openly discussed his bisexuality. Back then, it was a radical and potentially career harming gesture, but it became a defining moment for many gay people around the world.
In this Archive on 4, Tris Penna, who worked alongside Bowie at EMI Records, assesses the origins of the album, artists Michael Weller and George Underwood discuss their schooldays and early friendship with Bowie, and Ziggy Stardust co-producer Ken Scott recalls the studio experience.
"Young dude" Wendy Kirby, record plugger Anya Wilson, and former music exec Laurence Myers remember their time with "Ziggy" and singer Marc Almond talks movingly about the profound impact of Ziggy on his life.
Singer and actor Toyah Wilcox talks about the creative inspiration Bowie has had for her since the age of 12, and brings the reviews of the time alive.
The programme also includes rare archive material including a lost Bowie interview (as Ziggy) recorded in the Top of the Pops dressing room, a 1972 press conference, and insightful reflections from former band members Mick Ronson and Trevor Bolder.
We also hear studio outtakes – as well as a lost BBC session version of the title song.
Producers: Tris Penna and Sue Clark
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SOUL MUSIC: SERIES 30 - 8. LIFE ON MARS? (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 9th January 2021
Life on Mars? was released on David Bowie's Hunky Dory album in 1971. Two years later it came out as a single in its own right. Famous for its exploration of disillusionment and alienation, there is no one single definitive story behind it. But that is perhaps the song's beauty and the secret behind its appeal - that its cryptic lyrics are open to interpretation, and can mean different things to different people.
Musicians and fans talk about what Life on Mars? means to them, and its lasting emotional impact, in this special programme remembering Bowie's birthday on January 8th 1947 and commemorating his death on January 10th 2016.
And what does the question mark in the song's title mean?
With contributions from:
Musician Dana Gillespie whose autobiography is Weren't Born A Man
Bowie author Chris O'Leary
Scientist Abigail Fraeman of NASA's Mars Mission
Artist Bridget Griggs
The Reverend Steve Stockman
Screenwriter Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars)
Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio Bristol
DAVID BOWIE IN NEW YORK (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 22nd February 2021
In 2002, as he prepared to release his latest album, David Bowie met BBC Radio 4's John Wilson in a rehearsal room in New York City.
Over the course of an extraordinarily candid conversation, Bowie revealed his creative processes and inspirations behind some of his best loved albums. He looked back at how he created alter-ego characters, including Ziggy Stardust, through which he explored recurring themes in his work. "It's all despondency, despair, fear, isolation, abandonment", Bowie admitted. And he explained how the spaceship motif that often travelled through his songs was "an interior dialogue manifested physically .. it's my own little space writ large".
David Bowie, speaking just months after the 9/11 attacks on New York, also revealed how he had been seeking solace in spirituality as the prospect of death was weighing heavily on his mind.
Presented and produced by John Wilson.
BOWIE ON ENO ON BOWIE IN '77 - THE 6 MIX WITH NEMONE SPECIAL 16.01.21 (320kbs-m4a/93mb/40mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 16th January 2021
We go back to this time 40 years ago when David Bowie released Heroes and Brian Eno Before And After Science. Their work together at this time was key in the development of electronic music and it's emergence into the pop world. We hear both men talking about each other from separate interviews, which makes fascinating listening.
We hear about Eno's oblique strategies cards, just how quick Bowie was in the studio, how he really needed Eno at that time as he evolved his song writing and musical style, and see the first hints of Eno going into the world of ambient music.
David Bowie - Beauty And The Beast
Brian Eno - Sky Saw
David Bowie - Breaking Glass
Brian Eno - Spirits Drifting
David Bowie - Warszawa
David Bowie - Sense Of Doubt
Brian Eno - Through Hollow Lands
David Bowie - 'Heroes'
THE AGE OF BOWIE BY PAUL MORLEY (OMNIBUS) (320kbs-m4a/153mb/68mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 27th December 2020
Paul Morley was 13 when he first heard the music of David Bowie, played late at night by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel.
Before long, Bowie was taking the 1970s by storm and changing the face of pop music with his Ziggy Stardust tour, and Morley was a dedicated schoolboy fan.
Many years later, Morley would be an artistic advisor for the V&A museum's acclaimed Bowie exhibition, 'David Bowie is'.
In this personal account of the life, musical influence and cultural impact of his teenage hero, Morley explores Bowie's constant reinvention of himself and his music over a period of five extraordinarily innovative decades.
Morley describes how when he first heard Bowie's music his world 'suddenly became something else', and explores Bowie's childhood and his early attempts to make his name.
Omnibus of five episodes.
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
BOWIE AND BEYOND: A MUSIC FAN'S GUIDE TO BERLIN - 2. EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 20th February 2019
Writer and broadcaster Danny Robins looks at what has made the German capital a rock n roll Mecca, exploring the cultural and social forces that have shaped the city's rich musical history from Weimar times, via the Bowie years, to the techno revolution of the 90s and the vibrant present day music scene.
Danny follows in Bowie and Iggy's footsteps, on a guided tour with former recording engineer Thilo Schmied, who takes him around some of the pair's old haunts and shows him round the legendary Hansa studios where they recorded. In the shadow of the wall and within shooting range of the East German border guards. Bowie and Iggy inspired a creative influx of bands and singers in subsequent decades. Danny meets producer Gareth Jones, who worked with Depeche Mode and Nick Cave at Hansa, and Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, still a resident of Berlin.
Danny meets more recent musical immigrants too, like Eddie Argos from indie band Art Brut, now resident in hipster suburb Neukölln, and the queen of sextronic rock n roll, Peaches, who takes Danny on a tour along the remains of the Berlin Wall and gives him her suggested Berlin playlist. Danny also meets German artists, including Die Toten Hosen, indie band Tocotronic and German Hip Hop star Prinz Pi.
Danny builds up a picture not only of the influences that have shaped the city's unique soundscape but also the reasons it has been and continues to be such a rich and fertile place for musicians to base themselves. Every band needs a Berlin period - but is there such a thing as a Sound of Berlin?
First broadcast in 2013, and repeated as part of 6 Music celebrates Berlin.
BOWIE AND BEYOND: A MUSIC FAN'S GUIDE TO BERLIN - 1. EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/69mb/30mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 19th February 2019
Writer and broadcaster Danny Robins looks at what has made the German capital a rock n roll Mecca, exploring the cultural and social forces that have shaped the city's rich musical history from Weimar times, via the Bowie years, to the techno revolution of the 90s and the vibrant present day music scene.
Danny follows in Bowie and Iggy's footsteps, on a guided tour with former recording engineer Thilo Schmied, who takes him around some of the pair's old haunts and shows him round the legendary Hansa studios where they recorded. In the shadow of the wall and within shooting range of the East German border guards. Bowie and Iggy inspired a creative influx of bands and singers in subsequent decades. Danny meets producer Gareth Jones, who worked with Depeche Mode and Nick Cave at Hansa, and Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, still a resident of Berlin.
Danny meets more recent musical immigrants too, like Eddie Argos from indie band Art Brut, now resident in hipster suburb Neukölln, and the queen of sextronic rock n roll, Peaches, who takes Danny on a tour along the remains of the Berlin Wall and gives him her suggested Berlin playlist. Danny also meets German artists, including Die Toten Hosen, indie band Tocotronic and German Hip Hop star Prinz Pi.
Danny builds up a picture not only of the influences that have shaped the city's unique soundscape but also the reasons it has been and continues to be such a rich and fertile place for musicians to base themselves. Every band needs a Berlin period - but is there such a thing as a Sound of Berlin?
First broadcast in 2013, and repeated as part of 6 Music celebrates Berlin.
DAVID BOWIE - LIVE BBC RADIO THEATRE LONDON 2000 (320kbs-m4a/136mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 29th December 2018
David Bowie - Wild Is The Wind [EMI]
David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes [EMI]
David Bowie - Seven [EMI]
David Bowie - Absolute Beginners [EMI]
David Bowie - Always Crashing In The Same Car [EMI]
David Bowie - Survive [EMI]
David Bowie - Little Wonder [EMI]
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World [EMI]
David Bowie - Fame [EMI]
David Bowie - Stay [EMI]
David Bowie - Hallo Spaceboy [EMI]
David Bowie - Let's Dance [EMI]
BOWIE AT THE BEEB (320kbs-m4a/133mb/58mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 20th September 2018
Andy Peebles looks back at the many radio sessions and a concert David Bowie recorded for the BBC early in his career, from 1969 - 1972. Including extracts of an interview with Bowie recorded in 1969 and John Peel's memories of Bowie's work at the BBC. First broadcast in 1987.
David Bowie - White Light White Heat (BBC Version)
David Bowie - Love You Till Tuesday (Top Gear 24 Dec 1967)
David Bowie & Juniors Eyes - In The Heat Of The Morning (Top Gear May 1968)
David Bowie - Let Me Sleep Beside You (Radio 1 Session Oct 1969)
David Bowie & The Hype - Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Sounds Of The Seventies Apr 1970)
David Bowie - Bombers (John Peel's Sunday Concert 20 Jun 1971)
David Bowie - Looking For A Friend (John Peel's Sunday Concert 20 Jun 1971)
David Bowie - Almost Grown (John Peel's Sunday Concert 20 Jun 1971)
David Bowie - Kooks (John Peel's Sunday Concert 20 Jun 1971)
David Bowie & Mick Ronson - The Supermen (Sounds Of The Seventies Oct 1971)
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (Bob Harris Feb 1972)
David Bowie - Five Years (Bob Harris Feb 1972)
David Bowie - Starman (Radio 1 Session 1972)
David Bowie - Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (Bob Harris 19 Jun 1972)
DAVID BOWIE’S 'HEROES' 40TH ANNIVERSARY - MUSIC EXTRA 07.10.17 (96kbs-m4a/35mb/50mins)
BBC World Service broadcast: 7th October 2017
Florence Welch, from the British band Florence + The Machine, marks the 40th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s seminal “Heroes” LP by exploring the personal and musical factors that influenced the album’s writing and recording in Berlin in 1977.
Florence will feature archive of the late David Bowie explaining why he chose to live and work in Berlin and the impact the city’s history had on the masterpiece he created. She’ll also meet the album’s producer Tony Visconti to get an insight to the unique recording techniques he employed to interpret Bowie’s creative vision and how the characteristics of the famous Hansa Studios, which are situated in a huge former chamber music concert hall, contributed to the album’s influential sounds. Iggy Pop, who was living with Bowie in Berlin during the recording of the album, recalls how a battle with drug addition, bankruptcy and a legal dispute with his ex wife for access to his son all provided inspiration for the album’s lyrics and Brian Eno, who collaborated with David throughout the LP’s recording, explains the unique musical structures he and David employed to compose the innovative songs.
Berlin’s radical cultural diversity had always fascinated Bowie and Florence will explain how the opportunity to live and work in the city during the turbulent political period prior to the fall of `the Wall’ provided the perfect austere environment for David and his collaborators to experiment with music inspired by several German techno bands of the 70’s, including Neu!, Kraftwerk and Can.
(Photo: British pop singer David Bowie in concert at Earl's Court, London during his 1978 world tour. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images)
DAVID BOWIE STAR SPECIAL - 2. PART 2 (320kbs-m4a/135mb/29mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 27th December 2017
As part of Sharon Horgan's Three Wise Women curation, she selects a programme, rarely heard since it was made in 1979, in which David Bowie presents some of his favourite music, which ranges from The Velvet Underground to Elgar and Little Richard to The Mekons.
The Mekons - Where Were You?
Steve Forbert - Big City Cat
The Rolling Stones - We Love You [ABKCO]
Roxy Music - 2HB
Bruce Springsteen - It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
Stevie Wonder - Fingertips (Parts 1 & 2) [Motown]
Blondie - Rip Her To Shreds [Telstar]
Bob Seger - Beautiful Loser
David Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging [EMI]
David Bowie - Yassassin
Talking Heads - Book I Read
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
King Curtis - Something On Your Mind
The Staple Singers - Lies
David Bowie - Speed Of Life
DAVID BOWIE STAR SPECIAL - 1. PART 1 (320kbs-m4a/136mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 26th December 2017
As part of Sharon Horgan's Three Wise Women curation, she selects a programme, rarely heard since it was made in 1979, in which David Bowie presents some of his favourite music, which ranges from The Velvet Underground to Elgar and Little Richard to The Mekons.
David Bowie - Fame [EMI]
The Doors - Love Street [Elektra]
Iggy Pop - TV Eye (Live)
John Lennon - Remember
? And The Mysterians - 96 Tears [ABKCO]
Edward Elgar - The Nursery Suite (Extract)
Danny Kaye - Inchworm
Philip Glass - Trial Prison
The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane [Polydor]
Mars - Helen Fordsdale
Little Richard - He's My Star
King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man [Virgin/E.G.]
Talking Heads - Warning Sign
Jeff Beck - Beck's Bolero
Ronnie Spector - Try Some, Buy Some
T. Rex - 20th Century Boy [Telstar]
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 8th January 2017
6 Music Celebrates David Bowie, Adam Buxton takes a personal view of the musical icon.
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
David Bowie - Where Have All The Good Times Gone
David Bowie - Cracked Actor
David Bowie - TVC 15
John Phillips - Rhumba Boogie
David Bowie - Subterraneans
Brian Eno - Becalmed
David Bowie - Always Crashing In The Same Car
David Bowie - A New Career In A New Town
David Bowie - Warszawa
David Bowie - Heroes (German Version)
David Bowie - The Drowned Girl
Flight Of The Concords - Bowie's In Space
David Bowie - Andy Warhol
David Bowie - Fill Your Heart
David Bowie - Days
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 8th January 2017
In a special show as part of 6 Music's David Bowie Weekend, self-confessed Bowie nut Adam Buxton take us on a journey through the weird and wonderful world of one of the UK's most colourful pop stars. Featuring rare interviews, some unheard for over 30 years, Adam hand-picks some classic BBC Bowie moments, capturing the alternative spirit of Bowie's ever-changing persona.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (Live in Santa Monica 1972)
David Bowie - Five Years
David Bowie - Time
Feathers - Ching-A-Ling
David Bowie - Letter To Hermione
David Bowie - The Laughing Gnome
Davie Jones & The King Bees - Liza Jane
Anthony Newley - Mumbo Jumbo
David Bowie - Join The Gang
David Bowie - Please Mr. Gravedigger
David Bowie - Dancing Out In Space
David Bowie - Starman
Benny Hill - Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)
David Bowie - Space Oddity
David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes
David Bowie - Rock 'n' Roll Suicide
David Bowie - The Width Of A Circle
